Eurovision: You Decide is the current name of a BBC television programme broadcast annually to select the United Kingdom's entry into the Eurovision Song Contest. The show had previously gone under several other names, including Festival of British Popular Songs (1957), Eurovision Song Contest British Final (1959–1960), The Great British Song Contest (1996–1999), Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up (2004–2007), Eurovision: Your Decision (2008), and Eurovision: Your Country Needs You (2009–2010) but was known, for most of its history, as A Song for Europe (1961–1995, 2000–2003).

The selection process, originally broadcast on BBC One, has varied between selecting both the performer and song, or just the song in some years. For most years the public has been able to vote for the winner, in the past with postcard voting, where the viewers sent postcards with their vote to the BBC, but more recently televoting and online. In 2009 and 2010, the singer was chosen by a public vote and the song internally selected.

The most recent name and format was adopted in 2016, as between 2011 and 2015 the UK representation had been selected internally by the BBC, resulting in the televised selection show being suspended. On 30 September 2015, the BBC confirmed the show would return in 2016 and on 17 January 2016 that the national selection show would be called Eurovision: You Decide and broadcast on BBC Four.[1]

On 9 December 2016, it was confirmed that Eurovision: You Decide would return on 27 January 2017 and aired on BBC Two.[2] The format returned in 2018, again broadcast live on BBC Two.

The format of the show and the manner in which the winner is chosen has gone through many mutations. In its early days, there was a round of televised semi-finals, with the winner chosen by regional juries situated across the country. This format was used until 1960. During this era the show was known as the "Festival Of British Popular Songs" (1957) and "Eurovision Song Contest British Finals" (1959 & 1960). In 1961 the show became known by its more familiar title, "A Song For Europe", with regional juries once more deciding the winner. Typically, during that period, singers would be invited by the BBC to choose and perform a song that they liked from the shortlist available. Household names such as Petula Clark, Lita Roza, Anne Shelton, Frank Ifield, Ronnie Hilton and David Hughes were amongst the contenders for the UK competition, none of whom were able to secure the much cherished ticket to the Eurovision final. In the early 1960s, record companies became involved in the selection process for the first time and submitted songs by their artists. This produced hits for Craig Douglas, Karl Denver, Jackie Lee, Kenny Lynch, Vince Hill and Ricky Valance, but again, none of them were selected to go forward to the Eurovision Song Contest final itself.

From 1964 up until 1975, an artist would be chosen by the BBC, and that artist would sing all six songs (five in 1966 and 1967) in the selection, and the public (bar 1964 and 1971) would choose by postcard which song they would like to represent them in the contest. Regional juries selected the winner in 1964. A postal strike in 1971 prevented the ballot from taking place, so regional juries were once again constructed to pick the winner. In 1972, national power cuts meant that the broadcast of the show was blacked out in many areas, leading to a much lower postal vote. In its early days of this format, only "light entertainment" singers were used, such as Kenneth McKellar and Kathy Kirby. However, the poor showing of McKellar in Luxembourg (he placed 9th of 18 entries with scores from only 2 countries, including top marks from Ireland) prompted the BBC to use more mainstream pop stars, which led to a run of successful results for the UK. This idea was dropped due to the low number of postal votes cast in the contest of 1975, in which all six songs were performed by The Shadows, and after objections from songwriters who felt The Shadows, and the BBC's selections in general, were not the sort of artists they wanted to represent their music.

After 1964, the "Song For Europe" selection process was incorporated into other BBC light entertainment shows, in addition to the songs being broadcast on BBC Radio programmes. Typically, the performer would sing one song a week either on their own series or as a guest on another regular BBC TV show, more often than not, televised on Saturdays. This culminated with the performer singing all the songs one after another in a special edition of the given show. From 1968 to 1975, these performances were then immediately repeated before viewers were asked to cast their votes by mail. The following week, the winning song would be announced and performed once more, although there was a two-week wait in 1965. In 1968, Cliff Richard performed the songs only in a special edition of Cilla Black's eponymous TV series (broadcast on Tuesdays), without having sung them weekly beforehand. The various shows chosen for the "Song For Europe" performances were The Kathy Kirby Show (1965 shown on Fridays), Kenneth McKellar's A Song For Everyone (1966 shown on Thursdays), The Rolf Harris Show (1967), Cilla (1968 & 1973), Lulu (1969 & 1975), It's Cliff Richard! (1970, 1971 & 1972) and Clunk, Click... As It Happens (1974) – when in a break with the format, Olivia Newton-John performed three songs a week for two weeks rather than one a week for six weeks. Originally, Cilla Black's 1974 nine-part BBC series was also scheduled to feature the 'Song for Europe' process, but Black was uncomfortable at promoting another female singer (Newton-John) each week throughout the series' run and in a rather last minute decision, the BBC arranged to move the process to another show, necessitating the contracted process.[3]

This period was highly successful for the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. Author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor notes in his book The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History, that every UK entry to the contest from 1967 to 1977 finished in the top four, with only three songs not being first or second.[4] Indeed, the UK were only 7 points short of four consecutive victories from 1967 to 1970.

In 1977, a strike by BBC cameramen led to the contest being blacked out on TV, although the show went ahead and the audio portion was later broadcast on BBC Radio 2. The TV programme has never been broadcast and is not listed in the BBC archives, yet it was transmitted to the various regional juries in BBC studios around the country, in order for them to cast their votes. The 1979 "A Song For Europe" final was never held at all, due to a strike by BBC sound engineers. The juries had to judge using audio recordings of the rehearsals. The songs were presented to the public on Terry Wogan's radio show the following day, after the result was known, followed later in the day with a spot on the TV magazine show Nationwide, where the top 5 were revealed and the winners, Black Lace, were interviewed as guests on the show. As a result of this industrial action, all future contests were staged at BBC studios and not as outside broadcasts from venues. The 1980 result ended in a tie between Prima Donna's "Love Enough For Two" and Maggie Moone's "Happy Everything". To resolve this, in an unrehearsed panic, host Terry Wogan called back the juries to announce their favourite of the two songs. This led to extreme confusion when the scoreboard failed to keep up and some juries contradicted the results they had given earlier. Prima Donna won, with eight juries to Maggie Moone's six. A detailed check of the votes after the show did confirm that Prima Donna were the correct winners. Prima Donna were the first winners of the competition specifically formed to take part in Eurovision. This became the norm in the 1980s and the artists taking part in the contest became more and more obscure and amateurish. However, a few notable acts did enter the contest in the 1980s, with scant success. Liquid Gold, Alvin Stardust, Sinitta and Hazell Dean all failed to come through the heats.

By 1981, the number of songs had dropped to eight, and interest had started to wane. Four out of eight songs in both the 1982 and 1984 events were written by Paul Curtis, who was unsurprisingly responsible for the 1984 winner; "Love Games". Following Belle & The Devotions' performance at the 1984 Eurovision contest in Luxembourg, the audience audibly booed them from the stage in an orchestrated demonstration against the song's supposed plagiarism,[5][6] and by the local audience retaliating against a particularly shocking violent attack by English soccer fans.[7] For 1985, the BBC wanted to revert to having one singer of their choice perform all the short listed songs and approached Bonnie Tyler and when she was unavailable, Lena Zavaroni for the task. However, the Music Publisher's Association blocked the move, wanting their members the choice of their own singers to represent their music. A compromise was reached and only solo artists or duets – no "made for Eurovision" acts – were permitted to take part in the 1985 UK selection process and limited two entries per songwriter. Despite this rule, both songs submitted by Paul Curtis reached the final eight. They reverted to allowing all-comers for 1986. Starting in 1985, the songs were also 'previewed' on Terry Wogan's prime time chat show on BBC1 ahead of the final. When the series ended in 1992, the songs were presented in 1993 and 1994 in stand-alone programmes, hosted by Terry.

The number of entries briefly increased to ten in 1987 when record companies were invited to submit songs, but after a poor result from Rikki in the Eurovision final of 1987, the regional juries were disbanded, and the final decision given to the public through telephone voting, with a celebrity panel offering comments on the entries intended to guide viewers. This proved to be a relative success, accruing two second places and a sixth place (Zagreb, 1990). However, a disappointing 10th place in Rome obtained by Samantha Janus led the BBC to rethink the standard of performers in the competition.

As a result of the disappointing results in 1990 & 1991, the system that was used between 1964 and 1975 was resurrected, with the BBC's head of light entertainment, Jim Moir choosing one artist to perform all the songs in the UK final. Michael Ball was the first in 1992, and went on to win second place. Sonia was also second the following year. However, after a suggestion by Don Black to the BBC's new head of light entertainment David Liddiment in 1994, Tony Award winning stage star Frances Ruffelle was offered the job of representing the UK. A virtually unknown singer, unsurprisingly, interest was low. Her final position in the Eurovision Song Contest held in Dublin was a disappointing tenth, the same achieved by Samantha Janus in 1991.

A dramatic modernisation was introduced in 1995 in an attempt to boost the profile of the contest. Pop supremo Jonathan King was drafted in as Executive Producer to make the event more modern. The 1995 event had a diverse range of songs and some relatively well-known acts performing, such as Londonbeat who had a hit with "I've Been Thinking About You", pop-combo Deuce and Sox, which featured singer and former Page 3 icon Samantha Fox. All songs were presented on a special edition of Top Of The Pops prior to the live final. On the night, the well-known artists were all beaten by rap act Love City Groove, whose eponymous song could only manage a disappointing tenth in Dublin that year. On a positive note, the songs by Love City Groove and Deuce (I Need You) made the top 10 in the UK singles charts, reaching #7 and #10 respectively, while three other entries – Dear Jon "One Gift of Love" at #68, Londonbeat "I'm Just Your Puppet On A... (String!)" at #55 and Sox "Go For The Heart" at #47 – all reached the UK top 100.

In 1996, a semi-final was introduced. All eight songs were performed on Top of the Pops on 1 March, and the public voted to decide the four finalists. The results were announced the following day, but there was no information given on who finished where. On 8 March the final was held, with Gina G winning very easily with her dance number "Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit". The song became an instant hit in the charts, reaching Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the first UK non-winner to do so since 1968 but it was not as successful in the Eurovision Contest itself. In Oslo, Gina could only manage eighth place, but was perhaps consoled by her Europe-wide hit with the song, which also became one of the few Eurovision songs, and one of the relatively few dance songs, to be a major hit in the United States where it peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, was #1 on their Dance Chart and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording.

Jonathan King resigned, certain that, if Gina G couldn't win, nothing he selected could, but the BBC persuaded him to stay in charge and he decided to retain the same formula again, but with an added twist. All eight contestants would be heard on Ken Bruce's radio show on BBC Radio 2, with a public vote to decide the four finalists. The four would perform on The National Lottery Live until 1998, and then on Top of the Pops in 1999. The final itself would just consist of repeats of the performances made in the above shows, in a special programme on a Sunday afternoon. Jonathan persuaded his friends Katrina and Kimberley Rew, who had hit with "Walking On Sunshine", to enter a new track, "Love Shine A Light". This produced a win in the Eurovision Contest itself for the United Kingdom and for Katrina and the Waves in 1997, and followed with a second place for Imaani in 1998, but disappointment in 1999 for the all-girl band Precious.

In 2000, the same format continued, but the final four songs were performed live in A Song For Europe, still shunted to a graveyard Sunday afternoon slot. The result proved disappointing. Nicki French gave what author John Kennedy O'Connor describes in his book The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History as a far from strong performance, despite her previous chart success and attained the UK's worst ever placing at the time, a mere 16th in Stockholm with "Don't Play That Song Again".[4] This format continued the following year, and another poor showing for the UK. Lindsay D only got one place higher in Copenhagen. The entries from Six Chix in 2000 and Luke Galliana, the latter of which didn't make the 2001 final, became minor hits, with Galliana just failing to make the Top 40, but becoming a popular hit on cable request line music channel The Box.

The 2002 A Song For Europe generated a lot of publicity, because three of the four acts that made the final were relatively well known to TV viewers, albeit not necessarily for their singing ability. Surf 'n' Turf included Jonathan Maitland who is a TV presenter of consumer advice shows such as Watchdog and House of Horrors. Tricia Penrose is an actress who plays Gina in the 60s retro drama Heartbeat on ITV, and Jessica Garlick had made the final stages of another ITV show Pop Idol. The standard of songs was stronger than previous years, and Jessica Garlick had a runaway victory of nearly 70,000 votes with her ballad "Come Back". The song was also a success in Eurovision with it finishing joint third with host country Estonia.

2003 saw terrible disappointment. The new voting system of regional televoting, where 9, 10 and 12 points were awarded to the top three songs, led to an unsuccessful winner. Jemini's "Cry Baby" won by four points over "Help Me" by Emily Reed. Confidence in the UK entry was low for both fans and the public, and in the actual contest held in Riga, Jemini picked up the UK's worst-ever showing, scoring "nul points" and finishing last, due to a very poor performance, although some reports attempted to blame European disapproval of the US-UK invasion of Iraq for the failure of any nation to give the UK even one point. As noted by author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor, with 26 entries in the Eurovision field, this made "Cry Baby" the least successful song in the entire history of the contest.[4] No song in the Eurovision final scored "nul points" again until 2015.

Logo from 2004 to 2006

The 2004 selection was totally different. Gone was the Song For Europe name, replaced with Making Your Mind Up. The radio semi-final was also gone, and the six songs were performed live in a Saturday night show. This raised the profile of the competition, although there was criticism of the fact that four of the six acts were from reality TV shows. The winner, chosen by 70% regional televoting (regions awarding 0,2,4,6,8 and 12 points) and 30% SMS and Interactive voting, was James Fox, who had finished fifth in the second series of Fame Academy, with a gentle ballad "Hold On To Our Love", written by Gary Miller and Tim Woodcock. Viewing figures were peaked at over 7 million for the results show. The song finished 16th at the contest in Istanbul.

For 2005, six songs dropped to five, and the show was moved to an early Saturday evening slot on 5 March, to avoid a clash with Comic Relief Does Fame Academy; and Natasha Kaplinsky replaced Gaby Roslin as co-host with Sir Terry Wogan. The press focused on two performers. Javine Hylton who is a relatively well-known urban singer, and Katie Price, aka Jordan, a famous glamour model. The other contestants included former 3SL bandmember Andy Scott-Lee, the 1996 British Eurovision entry Gina G and unknown opera trio Tricolore. The voting itself was the same format as the previous year, but this time an online jury was added to decide between the contestants to take account of the views of those watching in the rest of Europe. After an exciting voting sequence, Javine came out on top with her ethno-urban song "Touch My Fire", although she also caused some controversy when she briefly fell out of her top during an energetic dance routine. At the 50th Eurovision Song Contest held in Kiev, Javine finished 22nd out of 24 participants in the final, the UK's second poorest finish ever.

In February 2006 it was announced that artists competing in the 2006 contest would include Kym Marsh and Anthony Costa, both relatively well known in the UK for their past involvement with music bands (the former appearing in Hear'say and the latter in boy band Blue). Following the format of the previous year (and with six songs this time), Making Your Mind Up returned in 2006 in a prime-time Saturday evening slot, and was broadcast on 4 March on BBC One. Terry Wogan and Natasha Kaplinsky once again presented and were accompanied by a 'Celebrity Jury' that included chat-show host Jonathan Ross, pop star Kelly Osbourne and Top of the Pops presenter Fearne Cotton. The eventual winner of the 2006 contest (after the 7 tele-juries from around the UK and mobile and web votes) was Daz Sampson and his song "Teenage Life". Yet another low result was produced for the United Kingdom, as Daz finished 19th in the contest out of 24 competing countries.

For the first time, the show was filmed at The Maidstone Studios in Kent. The hour long final was broadcast at 7:30pm on 17 March 2007 on BBC One, with the half hour results show showing at 9:30pm on the same date. Although this was past the 12 March cut-off set by the EBU, the BBC were given a special extension because the EBU were made aware of this over a year in advance.[8]

The show ended in disarray when Fearne Cotton shouted out that the winner was Scooch, while co-host Terry Wogan simultaneously announced the winner to be Cyndi. After some confusion from both performers, each thinking the other had won, it was revealed that the true winner was Scooch.

In 2008 the show's name was changed to Eurovision: Your Decision. It was screened in two parts in March 2008, and was hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Sir Terry Wogan. The six competing acts were paired as girl groups (LoveShy and The Revelations), soloists (Michelle Gayle and Andy Abraham), and "Joseph and Maria" contestants (Rob McVeigh and Simona Armstrong) from the BBC talent shows Any Dream Will Do and How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?. A panel of three judges (John Barrowman, Carrie Grant, and Terry Wogan) decided which artists to put through to a semi-final after each pair had performed. Terry Wogan then allowed one of the rejected acts through as a "wild card" before viewers were invited to vote by phone to decide which two would perform again in the final. The two finalists chosen by the viewers were Michelle Gayle singing "Woo (You Make Me)", and Andy Abraham singing "Even If". Despite having been originally eliminated at the first stage, Terry Wogan's "wild card" pick turned out to be the winner when the viewers voted Andy Abraham the victor with "Even If". This received a total of 14 points in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 on 24 May 2008 in Belgrade, finishing in last place, although sharing the same score with Poland (24th) and Germany (23rd).

The BBC announced in a televised call for talent on 18 October 2008, that in 2009 there would be another change to the national final. The show was renamed Eurovision: Your Country Needs You, hosted by Graham Norton, and followed a format similar to popular BBC talent shows I'd Do Anything and Any Dream Will Do. The multi-week format had members of the public (amateur or professional) compete to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, which was to be held in Moscow, Russia. In the final the three remaining contestants performed the song "It's My Time",[9] composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Diane Warren.[10] The winner of the contest was Jade Ewen who went on to score a credible fifth place at the Eurovision final in Moscow.

For 2010, the BBC announced on 29 January 2010, that songwriter and music producer Pete Waterman would be writing the UK's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, Norway, on 29 May.[11] Waterman's writing partner was Mike Stock and the singer was chosen on 12 March, in a live show featuring six potential artists broadcast on BBC One, hosted by Graham Norton.[12][13] Waterman chose three of the six acts to perform his song "That Sounds Good To Me", with the televiewers then selecting the winner. The winner was Josh Dubovie, who represented the UK in Oslo on 29 May and finished last with 10 points. The 2010 song was heavily criticised by fans and the media. Celebrity gossip blogger Christopher Couture went as far as to say "...last year, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jade Ewen proved a good song and a good singer can get us a good score. This year, we're back to the bottom of the leaderboard as Pete 'stuck in the 80's' Waterman offers a song that even Butlins would call tacky."

On 29 January 2011, the BBC confirmed that boy band Blue had been chosen to represent the UK in the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf with the composition "I Can"[14] written by Duncan James, Lee Ryan, Ciaron Bell, Ben Collier, Ian Hope, Liam Keenan and 'StarSign'.[15] Band member Anthony Costa had tried to represent the UK in 2006 as a soloist, placing second in the heat behind Daz Sampson. Other Blue personnel Lee Ryan had written one of the finalists in the 2005 UK heat and Duncan James was a panellist in the 2009 heat, going on to announce the UK scores at the Eurovision final from Moscow. James posted in a separate Twitter message that they have pre-selected their own song. The process thus excludes the UK viewing public from any participation in the British Eurovision selection for the first time.[16] Blue became the first UK representatives since The Shadows in 1975 to have had multiple No.1 singles in the UK chart prior to appearing in Eurovision,[17] and the first since Sonia in 1993 to have had a chart-topper at all.[18] A documentary entitled Eurovision: Your Country Needs Blue was produced for BBC One broadcast on Saturday 16 April 2011. The group placed 11th at the Eurovision final with 100 points and peaked at no.16 in the UK singles chart.

For 2012, Engelbert Humperdinck was selected internally by the BBC to represent the UK in Baku, Azerbaijan with the song "Love Will Set You Free". The song is written by Grammy award-winning producer Martin Terefe and Ivor Novello winner Sacha Skarbek, who co-wrote James Blunt hit "You're Beautiful". It was reportedly recorded in London, Los Angeles and Nashville.[19] At 76 years of age, Humperdinck was the oldest artist ever to appear for the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest and the first UK artist since 1976 to sing first. He placed second-to-last, only beating Norway.

Another internal selection took place for 2013, with Bonnie Tyler being chosen by the BBC to represent the UK in Malmö, Sweden.[20] She came a lowly 19th in the Eurovision contest.

A fourth internal selection followed in 2014, with Molly Smitten-Downes, under her artist name of Molly, being chosen to represent the UK with the song "Children of the Universe", written and composed by Smitten-Downes herself. However, Smitten-Downes was an unknown artist who was chosen through the BBC Introducing scheme.[21] The announcement of the selected artist and song was revealed on 3 March 2014 in a show entitled The UK Launch, and broadcast via the BBC Red Button service. The song finished in 17th place at the Eurovision Song Contest.

A fifth internal selection in 2015 selected the unknown act 'Electro Velvet' who went on to represent the UK with the song "Still in Love with You". The song was met with a mixed to negative reaction by the media and public.[22] The artists and song were presented to the public in a special presentation show titled Our Song for Eurovision 2015 broadcast via the BBC Red Button service in March 2015. In the final the UK could only manage 24th place out of the 27 entries.

On 6 October 2016, the BBC announced that the You Decide show would return in 2017 with more details to be announced later in the year.[27] On 9 December 2016, it was confirmed that Eurovision: You Decide would return on 27 January 2017. The 2017 competition consisted of six entrants, performed and broadcast live on BBC Two from the Eventim Apollo, in Hammersmith, London. The songs were revealed on 23 January during The Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2.[2] Six acts competed in the national final. The winner was selected through a public vote and, for the first time, the votes of a professional jury panel. Lucie Jones with the song "Never Give Up on You", written by Lawrie Martin, The Treatment and Danish Eurovision 2013 winner Emmelie de Forest, won the show. At the contest in Kiev, Jones finished in 15th place, having placed 10th on jury votes alone, but attaining a weak score from public voting.

On 29 September 2017, it was confirmed that Eurovision: You Decide would return in 2018 on BBC Two.[28] On 16 November 2017, Måns Zelmerlöw was announced as co-host for the UK national selection, which took place on 7 February 2018 at the Brighton Dome. The Dome was the venue for the Eurovision Song Contest 1974.[29] The contest was won by SuRie performing "Storm" written and composed by Nicole Blair, Gil Lewis and Sean Hargreaves.[30] The national final was watched by 900,000 viewers in the United Kingdom with a market share of 4.8% and thus failed to register in the Top 30 programmes viewed on BBC Two for the week.[31]

Song submissions for the 2019 edition opened on 19 September 2018.[32] On 30 November, the BBC announced that a new format would be used for 2019. Three songs, selected with the help of an international jury, will each be performed in two musically different styles by two different artists, with one act from each pair going through to a final public vote. For the first time, the national final will be broadcast live from Dock10, MediaCityUK in Salford.[33]

Although "I Love The Little Things" failed to reach the official top 50 singles chart in 1964, the EP release containing the track and the other UK finalists reached #16 in the official EP charts.

Both "Runner In the Night" and "Only The Light" reached the lower end of the top 100 of the singles chart reserved for new releases that were 'bubbling under' the official Top 75, but failed to register in the official top 75 itself.

From 1964–1975, the Song For Europe programme was pre-recorded, often several weeks in advance.[35] The result was typically broadcast one week after each Song For Europe programme. From 1988–1991, in 1995, and again from 2004–2008 the result was broadcast in a separate programme, shown later the same night as the performances. From 1986 to 1995, A Song For Europe was also broadcast by BBC Radio 2 with commentary by Ray Moore in 1986–87 and later by Ken Bruce from 1988, although Radio 2 did not broadcast the results show from 1991 onwards.

From 1992–1994 the programme was again pre-recorded, but the result show was live and broadcast the same night. In 1997 and 1998, the results were announced the next Saturday after the final and on the following Friday in 1999.

From 1957–1960, there were various televised semi-finals ahead of the UK final. This was reintroduced in 1996, with a preliminary round of voting to eliminate 4 of the 8 songs. This was televised in 1996 but switched to radio from 1997 to 2003.

^ abcExcept on two occasions. In 1977 it was not televised, due to industrial action by BBC cameramen and technicians minutes before the show went live. A recording of the contest was transmitted a few hours later on BBC Radio 2. The 1979 edition of A Song for Europe did not take place, it was abandoned due to a strike by BBC sound engineers.

1.
Music
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Music is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound organized in time. The common elements of music are pitch, rhythm, dynamics, different styles or types of music may emphasize, de-emphasize or omit some of these elements. The word derives from Greek μουσική, Ancient Greek and Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as the harmony of the spheres and it is music to my ears point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, There is no noise, the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music vary according to culture and social context. There are many types of music, including music, traditional music, art music, music written for religious ceremonies. For example, it can be hard to draw the line between some early 1980s hard rock and heavy metal, within the arts, music may be classified as a performing art, a fine art or as an auditory art. People may make music as a hobby, like a teen playing cello in a youth orchestra, the word derives from Greek μουσική. According to the Online Etymological Dictionary, the music is derived from mid-13c. Musike, from Old French musique and directly from Latin musica the art of music and this is derived from the. Greek mousike of the Muses, from fem. of mousikos pertaining to the Muses, from Mousa Muse. In classical Greece, any art in which the Muses presided, Music is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, or as an entertainment product for the marketplace. With the advent of recording, records of popular songs. Some music lovers create mix tapes of their songs, which serve as a self-portrait. An environment consisting solely of what is most ardently loved, amateur musicians can compose or perform music for their own pleasure, and derive their income elsewhere. Professional musicians sometimes work as freelancers or session musicians, seeking contracts and engagements in a variety of settings, There are often many links between amateur and professional musicians. Beginning amateur musicians take lessons with professional musicians, in community settings, advanced amateur musicians perform with professional musicians in a variety of ensembles such as community concert bands and community orchestras. However, there are many cases where a live performance in front of an audience is also recorded and distributed. Live concert recordings are popular in classical music and in popular music forms such as rock, where illegally taped live concerts are prized by music lovers

2.
Graham Norton
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Graham William Walker, better known as Graham Norton, is an Irish television and radio presenter, DJ, comedian, actor, and writer. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy chat show The Graham Norton Show, previously shown on BBC Two, it took the prestigious Friday night slot on BBC One from The Jonathan Ross Show in 2010. He also presents on BBC Radio 2 and is the BBC television commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest, Norton is known for his innuendo-laden dialogue and flamboyant presentation style. In 2012, he sold his company, So Television. In a 2004 poll for the BBC, Norton was named the eighth most influential person in British culture, Norton was born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, and grew up in Bandon, County Cork. His family are members of the Church of Ireland and his fathers family were from County Wicklow, while his mother was Northern Irish, from Belfast. Norton took part in the TV programme Who Do You Think You Are. to trace his ancestry. Norton was educated at Bandon Grammar School, in West Cork, and then University College, Cork, in June 2013, he received an honorary doctorate from University College Cork, he occasionally mentions this in order to win on-air arguments on his BBC Radio 2 show. Norton moved to London and attended the Central School of Speech and he also worked as a waiter during that time. Upon joining the actors union Equity, he chose Norton as his stage name, as there was already an actor called Graham Walker. His rise to fame began as one of the successes of Channel 5. In 1996, he co-hosted the late-night quiz show Carnal Knowledge on ITV with Maria McErlane. In 1996, Norton played the part of Father Noel Furlong in three episodes of the Channel 4 series Father Ted, which was set on the fictional Craggy Island off the west coast of Ireland, Father Furlong was often seen taking charge of the St. Lukes Youth Group. After this early success, Norton moved to Channel 4 to host his own shows including So Graham Norton. As a performer who is not only gay, but also camp and flamboyant, it was here that Nortons act was fully honed as a cheeky. In 2003, he was the subject of controversy in the United Kingdom when, on his show on Channel 4, also in 2003, Norton was listed in The Observer as one of the 1000 funniest acts in British comedy. In the summer of 2004, Norton ventured into American television, the Graham Norton Effect debuted on 24 June 2004 on Comedy Central, and was also broadcast in the UK on BBC Three. In the midst of controversy surrounding Justin Timberlake and Janet Jacksons Super Bowl performance, Norton was wary of moving into the market

3.
Hammersmith Apollo
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The Hammersmith Apollo is an entertainment venue and a Grade II* listed building located in Hammersmith, London. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace and it has had a string of names and owners, most recently AEG Live and Eventim UK. The venue was opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace and seated nearly 3,500 people and it was designed by Robert Cromie in the Art Deco style. In 1962, the building was renamed Hammersmith Odeon, a name many people use for the venue along with the abbreviation Hammy-O. It became a Grade II listed building in 1990, the venue was later refurbished and renamed Labatts Apollo following a sponsorship deal with Labatt Brewing Company. In 2002, the venue was renamed, this time to Carling Apollo after Carling brewery struck a deal with the owners. The venues listing was upgraded to Grade II* status in 2005, in 2003, the stalls seats were made removable and now some concerts have full seating whilst others have standing-only in the stalls. In the latter format the venue can accommodate around 5,000 people, the event was marked by rock band AC/DC playing an exclusive one-off concert and only charging £10 per ticket. All 5,000 tickets sold out in 4 minutes, in 2006, the venue reverted to its former name, the Hammersmith Apollo. In 2007, the original 1932 Compton pipe organ, still present from the days as a cinema, was restored. The building then changed hands and was bought by the MAMA Group, as a result, the venue was named HMV Apollo from 2009 until 2012. Other venues purchased include The Forum in Londons Kentish Town, the Birmingham Institute, the venue was sold by HMV Group in May 2012 to AEG Live and CTS Eventim. In 2013, the venue was closed for a refurbishment which was carried out by award-winning architect Foster Wilson. The venue reopened as the Eventim Apollo on 7 September 2013, the original 1932 Compton pipe organ is still present at the Apollo and was fully restored to playing condition in 2007. It has a console which rises through the stage on a new lift. Having fallen into disrepair, the organ was disconnected in the 1990s, however at English Heritage and the councils insistence it has been reinstated and the entire organ restored. A launch party was held on 25 July 2007, at which an invited audience, pipe organs such as this were installed in most cinemas of the pre-war period to provide music for film shows, accompany silent movies and to feature in solo performances. Many were also broadcast on the radio and recorded on 78 rpm records and these organs were based on church-type instruments but had many other sounds including percussion instruments built in

4.
MediaCityUK
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MediaCityUK is a 200-acre mixed-use property development site on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Salford and Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The project is being developed by Peel Media, and its tenants are media organisations. The land occupied by the development was part of the Port of Manchester and Manchester Docks, the BBC signalled its intention to move jobs to Manchester in 2004, and the Salford Quays site was chosen in 2006. The Peel Group was granted planning permission to develop the site in 2007, based in Quay House, the principal tenant is the BBC, whose move marks a large-scale decentralisation from London. The Studios on Broadway houses seven high-definition studios, claimed to be the largest such facility in Europe, MediaCityUK is to be developed in two phases. The 36-acre first phase was completed in 2011, and the second is dependent on its success, Metrolink, Greater Manchesters light-rail system, was extended to MediaCityUK with the opening of the MediaCityUK tram stop on 20 September 2010 and further extensions are planned. Road access was improved by the construction of Broadway Link Road, the Quays development includes The Lowry Arts Centre and the Imperial War Museum North. A total of 200 acres of land was earmarked for the development of MediaCityUK, the first phase of its development was primarily focused on a 36-acre site at Pier 9 on Salford Quays. In 2010 it was announced that the ITV production centre would be built on Trafford Wharf in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford. In 2003 reports emerged that, as part of the plans for the renewal of its Royal Charter, early discussions involved a plan where the BBC would move to a new media village proposed by Granada Television at its Bonded Warehouse site at Granada Studios in the city. Proposals to relocate 1,800 jobs to Manchester were unveiled by BBC Director General, Mark Thompson, the BBC justified the move as its spending per head was low in northern England where it had low approval ratings and its facilities at New Broadcasting House in Manchester needed replacing. The site at Salford Quays was chosen in June 2006 and the north was conditional on a satisfactory licence fee settlement from the government. In the same month the BBC Trust approved moving five London-based departments to the development, the departments to be moved were Sport, Childrens, Learning, Future Media and Technology and Radio Five Live. Construction started in 2007 with the owner, Peel Group as developer. The media facilities opened in stages from 2007, the first facility being the Pie Factory, which was located in a refurbished bakery. It featured three sound stages suitable for drama productions and commercials. In January 2011 Peel Media received planning permission to convert on-site offices used by Bovis Lend Lease during the construction of the first phase into the Greenhouse, the first trial show took place in November 2010 in Studio HQ2. The half-hour test show featured a power failure and a fire drill, the first programme filmed at MediaCityUK was Dont Scare the Hare in February 2011, and the first to transfer was A Question of Sport, the same month

5.
BBC
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The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. It is headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, the BBC is the worlds oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total,16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting, the total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed contract staff are included. The BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and used to fund the BBCs radio, TV, britains first live public broadcast from the Marconi factory in Chelmsford took place in June 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mails Lord Northcliffe and featured the famous Australian Soprano Dame Nellie Melba, the Melba broadcast caught the peoples imagination and marked a turning point in the British publics attitude to radio. However, this public enthusiasm was not shared in official circles where such broadcasts were held to interfere with important military and civil communications. By late 1920, pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among the staff of the licensing authority, the General Post Office, was sufficient to lead to a ban on further Chelmsford broadcasts. But by 1922, the GPO had received nearly 100 broadcast licence requests, John Reith, a Scottish Calvinist, was appointed its General Manager in December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast. The company was to be financed by a royalty on the sale of BBC wireless receiving sets from approved manufacturers, to this day, the BBC aims to follow the Reithian directive to inform, educate and entertain. The financial arrangements soon proved inadequate, set sales were disappointing as amateurs made their own receivers and listeners bought rival unlicensed sets. By mid-1923, discussions between the GPO and the BBC had become deadlocked and the Postmaster-General commissioned a review of broadcasting by the Sykes Committee and this was to be followed by a simple 10 shillings licence fee with no royalty once the wireless manufactures protection expired. The BBCs broadcasting monopoly was made explicit for the duration of its current broadcast licence, the BBC was also banned from presenting news bulletins before 19.00, and required to source all news from external wire services. Mid-1925 found the future of broadcasting under further consideration, this time by the Crawford committee, by now the BBC under Reiths leadership had forged a consensus favouring a continuation of the unified broadcasting service, but more money was still required to finance rapid expansion. Wireless manufacturers were anxious to exit the loss making consortium with Reith keen that the BBC be seen as a service rather than a commercial enterprise. The recommendations of the Crawford Committee were published in March the following year and were still under consideration by the GPO when the 1926 general strike broke out in May. The strike temporarily interrupted newspaper production and with restrictions on news bulletins waived the BBC suddenly became the source of news for the duration of the crisis. The crisis placed the BBC in a delicate position, the Government was divided on how to handle the BBC but ended up trusting Reith, whose opposition to the strike mirrored the PMs own

6.
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
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The United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 59 times and is one of the most successful countries to compete in the contest. They first participated in the second contest in 1957, the UK has entered every year since 1959, and has won the contest a total of five times. Along with Sweden, the UK is one of two countries with Eurovision victories in four different decades. The British public broadcaster, the BBC, broadcasts the event each year and organises the selection process for the entry. For most years, the public had been able to vote for the winner, using in the past postcard voting, where the viewers sent postcards with their vote to the BBC, but more recently televoting. In 2009 and 2010, a new national selection format was held to find the singer who would go on to sing the internally selected song at the contest. From 2011 to 2015, for the first time in UKs Eurovision history and this resulted in the national selection process being suspended, however, this returned in 2016. The United Kingdom has finished last in three contests, in 2016, the UK failed to reach the top 10 for the seventh consecutive time, with the duo Joe and Jake finishing 24th. It was alleged that the United Kingdom were expected to take part in the first contest in 1956, and this was later revealed by the EBU in January 2017 to be a mythical fact created by fans of the contest. Patricia Bredin was the first performer to represent the UK at Eurovision, at their second attempt in the contest in 1959, the UK achieved the first of their record fifteen runner-up positions, when Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson sang Sing, Little Birdie. In 1968, another performer was selected to represent the UK with the song Congratulations. In London, Cliff Richard gave the UK their sixth second-place finish, Congratulations remains one of only two non-winning UK Eurovision songs to top the UK charts. The UKs pulling of second was provided by the Scottish singer Lulu in 1969 with the song Boom Bang-a-Bang, another established performer, she had reached the US #1 spot with To Sir with Love in 1967. Having finished second on three occasions in the 1970s, with Mary Hopkin in 1970, The New Seekers in 1972. The UK achieved their victory in 1976 with Brotherhood of Man and Save Your Kisses for Me, who won with 164 points. In 1977, the UK finished second for the time represented by Lynsey de Paul. The UKs fourth victory came in 1981, with Bucks Fizz, the group was created especially for the UK selection contest A Song for Europe. At Eurovision in Dublin, they defeated Germanys Lena Valaitis by four points, the group went on to continued success, with 13 UK top 40 hits over the next five years

7.
Eurovision Song Contest
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The competition was based upon the existing Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951. The contest has been broadcast every year for sixty years, since its inauguration in 1956 and it is also one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally. Eurovision has also been broadcast outside Europe to several countries that do not compete, such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and China. An exception was made in 2015, when Australia was allowed to compete as a guest entrant as part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the event. In November 2015, the EBU announced that Australia was invited back as a participant in the 2016 contest after their success in 2015, following their success again in 2016, Australia will compete again in 2017. Since 2000, the contest has also been broadcast over the Internet via the Eurovision website, winning the Eurovision Song Contest provides a short-term boost to the winning artists career, but rarely results in long-term success. Notable exceptions are ABBA, Bucks Fizz and Céline Dion, all of whom launched successful careers after their wins. Ireland holds the record for the highest number of wins, having won the contest seven times—including four times in five years in 1992,1993,1994 and 1996. Under the current voting system, the highest scoring winner is Jamala of Ukraine who won the 2016 contest in Stockholm, under the previous system, in place from 1975 to 2015, the highest scoring winner is Alexander Rybak of Norway with 387 points in 2009. Satellite television did not exist, and the Eurovision Network comprised a terrestrial microwave network, the name Eurovision was first used in relation to the EBUs network by British journalist George Campey in the London Evening Standard in 1951. The first contest was held in the town of Lugano, Switzerland, seven countries participated—each submitting two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only contest in more than one song per country was performed, since 1957. The 1956 contest was won by the host nation, Switzerland, the programme was first known as the Eurovision Grand Prix. This Grand Prix name was adopted by Denmark, Norway and the Francophone countries, the Grand Prix has since been dropped and replaced with Concours in French, but not in Danish or Norwegian. The Eurovision network is used to carry news and sports programmes internationally. However, in the minds of the public, the name Eurovision is most closely associated with the Song Contest, a country as a participant is represented by one television broadcaster from that country, typically, but not always, that countrys national public broadcasting organisation. The programme is hosted by one of the participant countries, during this programme, after all the songs have been performed, the countries then proceed to cast votes for the other countries songs, nations are not allowed to vote for their own song. At the end of the programme, the song with the most points is declared as the winner, the programme is invariably opened by one or more presenters, welcoming viewers to the show

8.
Petula Clark
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Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress and composer whose career has spanned seven decades. Clarks professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II and she has sold more than 68 million records. Clark was born to Doris and Leslie Norman Clark in Epsom, Surrey, both of her parents were nurses there at Long Grove Hospital. Her mother was of Welsh ancestry and her father was English, young Sallys stage name of Petula was invented by her father, Leslie Clark, he joked it was a combination of the names of two former girlfriends, Pet and Ulla. During the war Clark lived with her sister at the home of their grandparents in South Wales, in a stone house with no electricity, no running water. Her grandparents spoke little English and Clark learned to speak Welsh and her grandfather was a coal miner. Her first ever live audience was at the Colliers Arms in Abercanaid, as a child Clark sang in the chapel choir and showed a talent for mimicry, impersonating Vera Lynn, Carmen Miranda and Sophie Tucker for her family and friends. I wanted to be Ingrid Bergman more than anything else in the world, from a chance beginning at age 9, Clark would appear on radio, film, print, television and recordings by the time she turned 17. In October 1942, the 9-year-old Clark made her debut while attending a BBC broadcast with her father. She was there trying to send a message to an uncle stationed overseas, during the bombing, the producer requested that someone perform to settle the jittery theatre audience, and she volunteered a rendering of Mighty Lak a Rose to an enthusiastic response. She then repeated her performance for the broadcast audience, launching a series of some 500 appearances in programmes designed to entertain the troops, in addition to radio work, Clark frequently toured the United Kingdom with fellow child performer Julie Andrews. Nicknamed the Singing Sweetheart, she performed for George VI, Winston Churchill, Clark also became known as Britains Shirley Temple and was considered a mascot by the British Army, whose troops plastered her photos on their tanks for good luck as they advanced into battle. While performing at Londons Royal Albert Hall in 1944, Clark was discovered by film director Maurice Elvey, in quick succession, she performed in Strawberry Roan, I Know Where Im Going. London Town, Here Come the Huggetts, Vote for Huggett and The Huggetts Abroad, which is a Powell and Pressburger feature film now generally regarded as a masterpiece. In 1945, Clark was featured in the comic Radio Fun, Clark felt that she played child parts for too long. In 1946, Clark launched her career with an appearance on a BBC variety show, Cabaret Cartoons. In 1947, Clark met Joe Mr Piano Henderson at the Maurice Publishing Company, the two collaborated musically and were linked romantically over the coming decade. In 1949 Henderson introduced Clark to Alan A. Freeman who, together with her father Leslie, Clark had recorded her first release that year, Put Your Shoes On, Lucy, for EMI

9.
The Shadows
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The group, who were in the forefront of the UK beat-group boom, were the first backing band to emerge as stars. As pioneers of the instrumental format, the band consisted of lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar. Their range covers pop, rock, surf rock and ballads with a jazz influence, the core members are Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett. The sound was produced by Fender and Burns guitars, amplifiers by Vox and echo units Meazzi Echomatic tape, the Shadows, with Cliff Richard, dominated British popular music in the late 1950s and early 1960s in the years before the Beatles. Although they lost ground in the late 60s, the band had a success from the late 70s. The Shadows are the third most successful act in the UK singles chart, behind Elvis Presley, the Shadows and Cliff Richard & the Shadows each have had four No.1 selling EPs. The Shadows, although originally the band for Richard, were later an instrumental combo, following their success with the Jerry Lordan composition. The Shadows disbanded in 1968 but Marvin and Welch formed a trio with John Farrar, as Marvin. Because of low sales and fans demanding Shadows numbers at gigs, the group disbanded in 1990 but reformed in 2004–05 for a UK and continental European tour and again during 2009–10 to tour and release an album with a 50th anniversary reunion with Richard. Samwell wrote the first hit, Move It, often attributed to Cliff Richard. Initially, Norrie Paramor wanted to record using only studio musicians but after persuasion he allowed Smart, two session players, guitarist Ernie Shear and bassist Frank Clark, played on the Move It/Schoolboy Crush single on Paramors insistence to ensure a strong sound. In his memoirs Welch regrets that he and Marvin could not be at the start of making history with Move It, the Drifters signed for Jack Goods Oh Boy. television series. Paramor of EMI signed Richard, and asked Johnny Foster to recruit a better guitarist, Foster went to Sohos 2is coffee bar, known for musical talent performing there, particularly in skiffle, in search of guitarist Tony Sheridan. Sheridan was not there but Fosters attention was caught by another musician, in spring the same year, the US Drifters threatened legal action after the release and immediate withdrawal of Feelin Fine in the US. The second single, Jet Black, was released in the US as the Four Jets to avoid further legal aggravation, the name the Shadows was invented by Harris while he and Marvin were at the Six Bells pub in Ruislip in July 1959. When Hank Marvin and Jet Harris took off on their scooters up to the Six Bells pub at Ruislip, Jet hit upon a name straight away. So we became the Shadows for the first time on Cliffs sixth single Travellin Light, in 1960, Apache, an instrumental by Jerry Lordan, topped the charts for five weeks. Further hits followed, notably Wonderful Land, another Lordan composition with orchestral backing, kon Tiki six months earlier had also reached number one

10.
Jimmy Savile
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Sir James Wilson Vincent Jimmy Savile, OBE, KCSG was an English DJ, television and radio personality, dance hall manager, and charity fundraiser. He hosted the BBC television show Jimll Fix It, was the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops, at the time of his death he was widely praised for his personal qualities and as a fund-raiser. After his death, hundreds of allegations of abuse were made against him. There had been allegations during his lifetime, but they were dismissed and accusers ignored or disbelieved, Savile was conscripted to work in the coal mines as a Bevin Boy during the Second World War. He began a career playing records in, and later managing, dance halls and his media career started as a disc jockey at Radio Luxembourg in 1958 and on Tyne Tees Television in 1960, and he developed a reputation for eccentricity and flamboyance. At the BBC, he presented the first edition of Top of the Pops in 1964, from 1975 until 1994, he presented Jimll Fix It, a popular television programme in which he arranged for the wishes of viewers, mainly children, to come true. In 2009 he was described by The Guardian as a prodigious philanthropist and was honoured for his charity work and he was awarded the OBE in 1971 and was knighted in 1990. By late October 2012, the scandal had resulted in inquiries or reviews at the BBC, within the National Health Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, the suspected victims included 28 children aged under 10, including 10 boys aged as young as eight. A further 63 were girls aged between 13 and 16 and nearly three-quarters of his victims were under 18. Some 214 criminal offences were recorded, with 34 rapes having been reported across 28 police forces, Savile, born in Leeds, was the youngest of seven children in a Roman Catholic family. His parents were Vincent Joseph Marie Savile, a clerk and insurance agent. Savile started playing records in dance halls in the early 1940s, according to his autobiography, he was the first to use two turntables and a microphone at the Grand Records Ball at the Guardbridge Hotel in 1947. It was billed as Jimmy Savile introducing Juke Box Doubles and he became a semi-professional sportsman, competing in the 1951 Tour of Britain cycle race and working as a professional wrestler. He said, If you look at the athletics of it, no wrestler wanted to go back home and say a long-haired disc jockey had put him down. So from start to finish I got a good hiding, Ive broken every bone in my body. Savile lived in Salford from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, the period with Ray Teret. Savile managed the Plaza Ballroom on Oxford Road, Manchester, in the mid-1950s, when he lived in Great Clowes Street in Higher Broughton, Salford, he was often seen sitting on his front door steps. He managed the Mecca Locarno ballroom in Leeds in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well as the Mecca-owned Palais dance hall in Ilford, Essex and his Monday evening records-only dance sessions were popular with local teens

11.
Olivia Newton-John
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Olivia Newton-John, AO, OBE is a British-Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five number-one and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles, eleven of her singles and fourteen of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA. She has sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the worlds best-selling artists of all time and she starred in Grease, which featured one of the most successful soundtracks in Hollywood history. Newton-John has been a long-time activist for environmental and animal rights issues, since surviving breast cancer in 1992, she has been an advocate for health awareness becoming involved with various charities, health products and fundraising efforts. Her business interests have included launching several product lines for Koala Blue and she is the mother of one daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, with her first husband, actor Matt Lattanzi. Her second husband is John Easterling, Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England, to Irene Helene, the eldest child of the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Born and Welsh father, Brinley Bryn Newton-John. Her mothers family had left Germany before World War II to avoid the Nazi regime and she is a third cousin of comedian Ben Elton. Her maternal great-grandfather was jurist Victor Ehrenberg and her matrilineal great-grandmothers father was jurist Rudolf von Jhering. Newton-John is the youngest of three children, following brother Hugh, a doctor, and sister Rona, an actress who was married to Grease co-star Jeff Conaway from 1980 until their divorce in 1985. Newton-Johns father was an MI5 officer on the Enigma project at Bletchley Park who took Rudolf Hess into custody during the Second World War. In 1954, when she was six, Newton-Johns family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia and she attended Christ Church Grammar School, and then University High School, adjacent to Ormond College. At fourteen, Newton-John formed a short-lived all-girl group, Sol Four and she became a regular on local Australian radio and television shows including HSV-7s The Happy Show where she performed as Lovely Livvy. She also appeared on the Go Show where she met future partner, Pat Carroll. Newton-John was initially reluctant to use the prize she had won, a trip to Britain, Newton-John recorded her first single, Till You Say Youll Be Mine Forever, in Britain for Decca Records in 1966. While in Britain, Newton-John missed her then-boyfriend, Ian Turpie, with whom she had co-starred in the Australian telefilm, Newton-John repeatedly booked trips back to Australia that her mother subsequently cancelled. Newton-Johns outlook changed when Pat Carroll also moved to the UK, the two formed a duo called Pat and Olivia and toured nightclubs in Europe. After Carrolls visa expired forcing her to return to Australia, Newton-John remained in Britain to pursue solo work until 1975 and she became engaged to The Shadows guitarist Bruce Welch, but they never married. Newton-John was recruited for the group Toomorrow formed by American producer Don Kirshner, in 1970, the group starred in a science fiction musical film and recorded an accompanying soundtrack album both named after the group

12.
Brotherhood of Man
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Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s. They won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with Save Your Kisses for Me, created in 1969 by songwriter and record producer Tony Hiller, Brotherhood of Man was initially an umbrella title for a frequently-changing line-up of session singers. Early on, they scored a hit with the song United We Stand. By 1973 the concept had run its course and Hiller formed a definite four-member line-up consisting of Martin Lee, Lee Sheriden, Nicky Stevens and Sandra Stevens. This version of the went on to score many hits around the world in the mid to late 1970s including Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby, Angelo, Oh Boy. They achieved perhaps their biggest success in their native UK with three number one singles and four top twenty albums, the group under this line-up still continues today, performing shows throughout Europe. Altogether, they have released 16 studio albums, with sales topping 15 million records. Brotherhood of Man were formed by record producer/composer Tony Hiller in 1969, Burrows was a well-known session singer, performing in various line-ups on hit singles such as the No.1 hit Love Grows by Edison Lighthouse. The two female members, Glover and Leslie were an act in their own right, releasing singles as Sue, the group came together in 1969 and began recording some songs with Hiller. Their first single Love One Another failed to chart, but the follow-up United We Stand was a worldwide hit, United We Stand was heavily played on British radio, and broke the American market. The single became a Top 20 hit in the UK, Canada, the song has since been used as the closing theme for televisions Brady Bunch Hour and as an anthem for various causes. Burrows left the group soon after and as a four-piece, The Brotherhood of Man followed United We Stand with another hit, the song charted in the UK, Canada, and US and has since been covered by Olivia Newton-John and The Osmonds among others. A début album United We Stand followed soon after, over the next two years, the group continued in varied line-ups. Goodison left the group at the beginning of 1971 and was replaced by American singer Hal Atkinson and they had one more minor hit in the US, but experienced no further success in the UK and were eventually dropped by their record company. Keen to keep the name alive, Hiller set about putting a new line up together. In 1972 he got together a trio of singers, Martin Lee, Nicky Stevens. Sheriden was already known to Hiller as a songwriter and had a solo career, Lee had a solo single to his name and was a budding songwriter. Stevens had been trained, but had since adapted her vocals and was performing as a cabaret singer